COLUMBUS – Wednesday night, the Columbus Crew entered the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match with a chance to salvage a difficult season with silverware.

Instead, the Crew came up one victory short.

The Crew fell to St. Louis CITY SC 5-3 on penalties after a scoreless 120-minute draw at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Downtown Columbus.

The result denied the Crew their first Open Cup championship since 2002 and handed St. Louis its first title in the competition.

The Black & Gold entered the match having won five of its previous six matches across all competitions, building momentum in the closing stages of an inconsistent season.

After rotating and subbing key players in their 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati on Sunday, interim head coach Laurent Courtois and the Crew went all in against a red-hot CITY side. Josef Martinez, Santiago Rodriguez, Brais Mendez and Anass Zaroury were attacking options who hoped to make an impact in the final.

However, neither side broke the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes.

The score remained unchanged throughout the second half, with Columbus and St. Louis unable to produce the decisive goal needed to lift the trophy in regulation.

With the match still scoreless after 90 minutes, the two sides needed 30 minutes of extra time; however, that too failed to produce a winner, sending the final to a penalty shootout.

The Crew failed to convert its opening penalty, putting itself at an immediate disadvantage.

St. Louis, meanwhile, converted all five of its attempts. Despite Columbus converting its next three spot kicks, the visitors won the shootout 5-3 to claim the infamous trophy.

For Columbus, the defeat ended a tournament run that offered an alternative path to success during a challenging MLS season.

Columbus began its Open Cup campaign with a 3-0 victory over the Richmond Kickers before defeating One Knoxville SC 4-1 in the Round of 16.

The Crew then secured a 1-0 win over New York City FC, setting up a semifinal meeting with Orlando City SC. Goals from Martinez and Mendez, plus two assists from Rodriguez, powered Columbus to a 2-1 win over Orlando and its first Open Cup final appearance since 2010.

Wednesday night’s result marked Columbus’s third runner-up finish in the competition (1998 and 2010). The result also kept the Crew from securing a berth in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, awarded to the Open Cup champion.

For a Columbus side that underwent significant changes throughout the season, the tournament offered a chance to add another trophy to the Club’s recent history.

That chance ended from the penalty spot.

Columbus will now shift its focus back to MLS as it looks to build on its late-season improvement and finish the 2026 campaign on a positive note.

What’s Next?

The Crew returns home Saturday, October 24, to host Toronto FC. Kickoff from ScottsMiracle-Gro Field is set for 3:30 p.m. EDT. You can watch the match on Apple TV.